Barley has been missing her sister, Rogue

Barley and Rogue in happier times

We knew our little gerbil family wasn’t going to be the same without Rogue’s troublesome ways. Barley took the loss of her sister badly at first, she and Rogue used to spend a lot of time together tussling and getting into trouble. As Barley still wanted to play she took to harassing her other two sisters, who are both much calmer in character, chasing them round the room and making them squeak.

It was upsetting to see our little gerbils so unhappy and unsettled, so we’ve been trying to intervene and let Barley know we are there for her to play with. I’m pleased to say it has been working. Barley seems to have settled down and when she wants to play she now harasses us and gets lots of extra attention, leaving our little girls Millie and Syrup to amuse themselves in their own sweet ways.